


Smile for the Camera

by aberrantartificer



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Domestic Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-28
Updated: 2018-12-28
Packaged: 2019-09-28 22:42:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17191640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aberrantartificer/pseuds/aberrantartificer
Summary: Pictures capture some great moments, and some stupid ones





	Smile for the Camera

As Maxie put the key through the lock, he took a deep breath as he pushed up the door. The attack was instant, as two nearly 100 pound Mightyenas jumped and snapped excitedly, vying to be the first to knock Maxie over.

“Alright puppies, don’ go breakin’ yer Dad, ‘kay?” Archie said, grabbing Pup and Poko by their collars. 

They whined like the drama queens they were until Archie got their attention on a tug rope and only then did Maxie relax. He has told Archie they needed to curb that habit of theirs before someone actually gets hurt but he was as stubborn as those Pokémon. Maxie was just going to have to live with their ‘excited greeting’ any time he came home.

Speaking of excited greetings, Maxie rolled his eyes as Archie swooped him up in a huge embrace. “Is this going to be a normal thing?”

“Don’ you worry, I’ll think of somethin’ better yet,” Archie said with a wink. “Oh! Yer gonna lose yer mind when you see what I got in the mail.”

“Archie, I swear if you ordered another stupid ‘Bluetooth’ planter or whatever--”

“No no, that ain’t it!” Archie let him go and bounded like the excited child he was to the living room. “Have some faith, huh? Here!”

Maxie shook his head and made his over to Archie. 

Archie bowed and held out a parcel like it was the Holy Grail. “For you, yer majesty.”

“Why thank you, let us see if this gift is worth my oh so precious time,” Maxie said, acting his part to their act. He could not hold it for that long, though, when Archie held his hands over his heart with a flourish. Maxie snorted as he opened the box, tape already cut.

Inside laid a polaroid camera and a clutters of developed pictures. Rifling through, there were a couple pictures of Archie’s mother and Corentin, but most of the pictures were candids of Hoenn Pokémon and beach goers. Archie came around to peer over Maxie’s shoulder, picking out the camera and a picture of Wingull in flight.

“Shelly found it while cleanin’ out the old place!” Archie explained. He puffed out his chest. “I was quite the photographer when I was a sprout, aye?”

Maxie lifted a photo and an eyebrow. He couldn’t tell if it was beach ball or a Snorunt.

“Okay, hey now, whatever that is, it was movin’ and you can’t blame me and quit laughin’ Max.”

Maxie pat his husband’s cheek in apology. “These are all very cute, Archie. What do you plan on doing with it all?”

“I dunno.”

“Don’t start a mess.”

“Faith, Max, faith!”

Maxie shook his head and took a seat to better look through the pictures. Halfway through, with Archie pointing out details and listening to the stories behind them, Poko laid across his feet. As Maxie leaned down to pet his Pokémon, he noticed some polaroids face down on the coffee table. Archie probably played around with the old camera before he got home. Maxie reached over, carefully picking one up.

“Oh, wait wait wait Maxie hold on -- !”

It was a picture of him, his profile to be exact, and much, _much_ younger than now. His hair was a much more vibrant shade of red, much shorter too, and those awful bangs hung messily in front of his eyes. This Maxie had an expression that was actually not pissed for once, something Maxie remember he was a lot in his youth.

“Archie,” Maxie said, realizing what exactly he was looking at. “You really kept this.”

His husband scratched his face sheepishly. “Ah, yeah. And… a whole bunch a’others. Don’ lookit me like that!”

Maxie said nothing as he looked back at the picture. He barely remembered that Archie would take candids of him during those days. At first it was to piss him off, like everything else would when he was young, but eventually it turned into an injoke as they became actual friends. Maxie couldn’t help but smile at the bittersweet memories, that is until he heard the click of a polaroid.

“Oh, you must be kidding me, Archibald!”

Archie laughed, and laughed harder still when he held the yet developed picture out of Maxie’s reach. “I had to, sweets, fer old times sake!”

With the picture revealed, Archie looked at it as Maxie huffed. grabbing the others on the table. Archie whistled, low and wistful. “Now ain’t that pretty as a picture.”

“Maybe because it is,” Maxie said, getting a hush in response. He looked at the picture for himself. It was his profile once again, but one worn with age. At least his hair was better. It also captured the smile he was wearing moments ago, lost in reminiscing. Maxie shook as head. “An over-exaggeration there.” 

“With you, there ain’t no such thing,” Archie said sweetly, laying his arm across Maxie’s shoulders and placing a kiss on his temple.

He huffed again, but Maxie couldn’t help but lean into his husband. There was no arguing with Archie about this kind of thing. And maybe it was a nice picture of him.

“Oh, right! Lookit this one Max!” Archie said suddenly. He thumbed at the pictures in Maxie’s hand, picking out one of the least worn polaroids.

It was an actual picture of Maxie and Archie, a selfie before selfies existed. The first thing Maxie noticed were their shirts; dark and inconspicuous save for the crimson red ‘R’s printed on the sleeves. He felt his nose wrinkle with the thought of the ‘organization’ they were apart of. He felt Archie nudge him slightly, and Maxie forced himself to actually look at themselves.

They both sported wide, open grins. Maxie briefly wondered how Archie actually got him to smile like that but then the memories clicked back into place. “Oh no.”

“Oh yeah! The day we got our teeth sharpened!”

“The day we recovered from getting our teeth sharpened. You nearly shredded your lip the first couple days.”

“More like yer lip,” Archie said with an over-exaggerated wink.

Nevertheless, Maxie could feel his face flush. “You wished, perhaps. I don’t think we were even close to dating then.”

“Oh definitely not. I was still a pure, young man.”

“Right.”

“Right!”

Maxie snorted and grabbed the picture from Archie’s hand. The two of them looked stupidly proud of what they did to their teeth, and the signing on the bottom confirmed it: A pair of cool bastasds!! Maxie chuckled a bit. It might have been a stupid decision back then, still is, but he had to admit he doesn’t regret it.

After a little bit longer of looking through the polaroids, Archie slapped the back of the couch. “Come on, let’s go for a ‘w’. I want to shake the rust of these photography chops!”

Maxie held up the maybe-ball-maybe-Snorunt picture again, laughing when Archie groaned and yelled “Motion, Maxie!”. Returning their Mightyena to their pokéballs, the couple headed out the door.

\---

As Archie played around with his childhood camera, Maxie watched Poko romp around in the still melting snow. Pup stayed by his side, the ice and cold mud no doubt no fun for his old bones. Maxie chuckled, remembering how Archie complained of the same when they first moved to Snowpoint. He worried the same would happen to himself, if not worse, but growing up here let him take to the bitter cold like a Piplup to water.

Maxie looked over to were Archie had Minnie and Motor posed. Well, it was more like their Electivire posed while his Camerupt, unbothered as ever, patiently let her picture be taken. He smiled watching the three. He was sure there would be more photo-shoots like this.

Archie waved yet another polaroid in the air as he walked over to his husband. “Alright, that’s the last one.”

“No more film?”

“Mm-mm. Well, one more. You think the store in town got some?”

“Snowpoint is twenty years behind. There’ll be plenty.”

Archie chuckled. “Okay. Alright I have an idea fer this last one. Come.” Archie lead Maxie to a bench, gesturing to take a seat.

Instead, Maxie crossed his arm. “Really?”

“Oh, think yer special? We’re takin’ a picture together, Maxie.” Archie reached in the sleeve he kept the other pictures. “Let’s recreate this one!”

Maxie took the picture and crossed his arms. _"Really?"_

“It’s a cute picture Maxie! Come on.”

Maxie palmed his face with his free hand and took a seat. At least it was an easy picture to recreate. The picture was taken in less than a minute, and the two sat there as the picture developed.

“Ha, lookit that!” Archie exclaimed.

The picture he choose to recreate was the one they taken to commemorate sharpening their teeth. Looking at the two side by side, they had gotten the recreation as close to perfect as they could. It was evident to see the twenty years that had passed, at least to Archie and Maxie and so much has happened. There were many stupid decisions they had made; some not as bad as the teeth, and some so much worse. But here they were: posing for and taking pictures, happily together, with the only potential fight to brew was who was going to wash down Poko tonight.

**Author's Note:**

> If you liked this ficlet, please check out my tumblr and twitter for the accompanying illustrations!  
> https://artidoodles.tumblr.com/post/181473870806  
> https://twitter.com/artidoodles


End file.
